


Glass cage

by pettybear



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/M, Gloria is aged up, I made Rose and Oleana a lot more evil, I might change it but i think it's just gonna be Hop/Gloria for now, Imprisonment, Just obsessed, Kidnapping, Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Romance, Rose isn't romantically interested in her, Rose tower, Rose's plan worked, She's like seventeen, So is Hop and the other rivals, They are an actual evil organization, idk man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21561883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pettybear/pseuds/pettybear
Summary: Chairman Rose succeeded in capturing Eternatus and harnessing it's power, and was claimed a hero by the people of Galar. But with his newound increased authority, nothing holds him back from delving deeper into his obsession with Gloria. Unfortunately for him, Gloria won't take it lying down. She'll do anything to get back to Hop, and become the champion.
Relationships: Gloria & Rose, Gloria/Chairman Rose, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 23
Kudos: 150





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thank you for reading. I made a few changes in the story, since Rose really isn't all that evil in canon. Please excuse any spelling mistakes, English isn't my first language. Let me know what you think :)

The first thing Gloria’s senses picked up on after her slumber was the sharp smell of rubbing alcohol drowning out any other. Next came a tingling sensation running from her finger tips all the way up to her shoulders, accompanied by a throbbing headache.

Willing her heavy eyelids to open, she drowsily took in the white ceiling through the stream of light filtered by the large windows, an unfamiliar sight after so many nights of camping out with her beloved team. Now, even something as simple as four walls felt suffocating and constricting when compared to the vast night sky that never failed to amaze her. Even the obviously high quality bed she was currently cushioned in felt uncomfortable, as she had learned to much prefer the sturdy earth against her back and grass tickling between her toes.

“Well then,” a cold voice interrupted her incoherent musings, “looks like you woke up after all. A shame, really.”

Despite the pain shooting through her trembling body, Gloria turned her head to the side and gazed right back into Oleana’s beautiful, cruel green eyes.

“…Where am I?” she croaked out, her raspy voice sounding unfamiliar to her own ears.

Oleana in turn raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, her already displeased expression twisting into a blatant display of downright annoyance.

“You should recognize this place. I recall you and the champion’s brother sneaking in here like filthy rats not too long ago.” Oleana’s blood red lips slightly turned upwards, but the small smile didn’t reach her eyes by a milestone. “Unless you have memory loss, or something along the line? Now wouldn’t that be amusing.”

Gloria chose to ignore the taunts, instead focusing on examining her surroundings. Sleek, steel designs and modern decorations confirmed her growing suspicions. She was laying on a hospital bed in Rose tower, surrounded by blaring machines and a dripping IV.

Memories of the events that had happened rushed back, promptly filling her with a familiar sense of panic and worry. “What happened to Hop?” she asked, raising a heavy arm to push back her sweat soaked bangs. “Where are my Pokémon?!”

Oleana opened her mouth to speak, maybe snap at her to keep it down, but was interrupted by a familiar, suave voice entering the room.

“Gloria.” Chairman Rose walked in with his familiar charming smile plastered on, causing Gloria to shrink back against the headboard and Oleana to shoot out of her seat. “Please, forgive me for not being here when you woke up. I had some… business to attend to.”

“There is no need to apologize, Mr. Rose,” Oleana hurried to say, bowing lightly In a show of misdirected respect. “The challenger woke up only recently.”

“She’s not a challenger anymore,” Rose laughed, his words enough to chill Gloria to the bone.

“Excuse me?” Gloria weakly grasped the side of her head, and looked at Rose through half lidded eyes, powering through the pain. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

It was kind of scary, seeing the two sets of green eyes focus so intently on her. It’s not like she was shy. Maybe when she started her journey, but battling in front of the entirety of Galar took quick care of that. So why did their attention unnerve her so?

“There is no need to worry, I took care of everything,” Rose said, but Gloria couldn’t comprehend whether that warmth present in his voice was real or not. “You don’t need to compete in such a ruthless environment anymore.” Like an afterthought, Rose added, “Not that you could anymore.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Gloria’s voice was edging on hysterical now. She didn’t like this one bit. “Tell me what’s going on, right now!”

“I’d advise you to keep your tone in check,” Oleana snapped, digging her long nails into her pale wrists. “Show some respect-”

“Oleana.” Chairman rose turned to her, and something about the way he said the tall woman’s name made them both shiver. “Can you leave us for a moment.”

“But…”

“I will call you in when you are needed.”

For a solid second Oleana looked like she wanted to protest, but pursed her lips together all the same, turned on her heels and walked out. When the door closed again, they were left with an uncomfortable silence hanging between them.

“…Where are my Pokémon?” she asked again, when she couldn’t take the tension anymore.

Chairman Rose’s stare was unyielding. Eventually, he sighed and dragged a hand through his facial hair in exasperation. “Gloria, what is the last thing you remember?” he asked, seating himself in the chair previously occupied by his assistant.

_Should she just play along for now…?_

“I was going to battle the champion, but you interrupted with your announcement. I went down to the power plant, and then I found you and…”

“Eternatus.”

“What?”

“The Pokémon you saw that day is called Eternatus.” Rose shifted in his seat, and leaned on his hand while he smiled pleasantly. That smile would have made Gloria feel comforted, before all this happened. Now, it only served to make her increasingly weary.

“I think… I remember.” Her headache was becoming increasingly more painful with each memory popping back up. “You unleashed the darkest day, and I tried to stop you. But…”

“But by the time you got there, I’m afraid there was nothing to stop,” Rose said jovially. “With the help of the gym leaders, I was able to get Eternatus under control.”

“But why would the gym leaders help you?” The thought of the people she viewed as her big examples betraying her hurt more than she thought it could.

“Well, I’ll admit they were hesitant at first. But I’m not just a nobody, you know? You know I hate to brag, Gloria, but I am not called Galar’s most powerful man for nothing. It didn’t take too much convincing for them to assist me after all.”

“But you unleashed disaster!”

“Did I really though?” Rose asked, and the tone of his voice made it sound like a genuine inquiry. “The winners write history, sweetheart. And the chairman of Macro Cosmos is no loser.”

“…Okay, I see. So then what happened?” She simply couldn’t imagine her friends to stay quiet about this.

“Eternatus is being used to power Galar for thousands of years to come, and I was proclaimed as a hero after I explained everything. With the new gained power I now have, I decided to change a few things in our beloved region. You would be quite surprised if you were to see it one day, I imagine.”

_If she were to see it one day?_

“Oh Arceus… how long have I been out for?”

“Exactly twenty seven days,” Chairman Rose smiled, like he didn’t just drop a giant bomb on her. “I was incredibly worried about you. I kept you here, where we have twenty four hour surveillance and the best technology to guarantee you a swift recovery.”

“Twenty-seven days? What- how?!” She buried her hands in the pristine white sheets of her bed, and tried to comprehend all of the crazy information presented.

“You don’t remember, but you got caught up with the fight while the gym leaders and I were trying to get Eternatus under control. You got a nasty blow to the head before we even noticed you… I’m so sorry, Gloria. I should have seen this possibility coming, and saved you from all of this hardship.”

“This is all pretty confusing to me, Mr. chairman-”

“Call me Rose,” he flashed his perfect teeth at her, not holding back on the charm.

“Rose, can I please go home now? My mother must be so, so worried. And Hop…”

Gloria could’ve sworn Rose’s expression turned to something darker and sinister for a moment, but before she could properly register it, his usually present smile betrayed nothing again.

“I have been thinking, Gloria… You have been in my care for a while now. I visited you every day, my dear. Seeing you laying so still, surrounded by machines, I realized you are very precious to me.”

“Yes?”

“Where I’m going with this is, I have decided it would work in both of our best interest if you stayed here with me, in Rose tower. Indefinitely. ”

“…Huh?” was all she could muster, mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief.

“I have seen it with my own eyes. You are much too fragile for this harsh world. Because of your selflessness, you have become reckless. You must understand, there was a high possibility you would never wake up, even after the care provided here. And I will not lose you again. I won’t stand for it.”

“I don’t get it, what are you even talking about? Are you saying I can’t return home?” Her headache was starting to get worse again.

“This is your home now, whether you like it or not. Children need adults to make decisions for them, and I have decided to become that person for you. You will not be leaving this tower until I deem you ready.”

“You- you can’t just do that! I’m not a freaking Pokémon you can keep in a poke ball!”

Rose had the audacity to sigh deeply, like _she_ was the issue here. “I see you’re not ready to accept what’s best for you yet. I understand, though. I will give you time to think it over, if I must.”

Panic seized her by the throat when Rose stood up from his seat and walked to the giant, iron door keeping her from her freedom.

“Wait!” she pleaded, and attempted to get up in vain. After sleeping for so long, her muscles felt weak and useless, and her legs wouldn’t budge. “This is ridiculous! We’re not done here, Rose! You don’t have the authority to do this.”

“Oh Gloria,” Rose chuckled, his laugh sounding hollow to her ears. “If anyone has the authority, it would be me.”

With that the older man left, leaving her all alone in a room as big as it was empty.


	2. Chapter 2

The view from Gloria’s room was, in one word, stunning.

She only had to throw a glance outside to admire the gorgeous, ultramarine waves slosh about outside of the giant, naked windows hiding nothing and no one.

She guessed her placement in the tower was on purpose, so she couldn’t see the so called “changes” made to the region she had come to love exactly as it was. The thought of her memory’s being disrupted broke her heart. She and her team wrote history on every path they traveled, every tree they shook and every wave they rode. 

Now, Gloria couldn’t help but wonder what was left of those marks. A hopeful piece of her clung to the small possibility that Rose lied, but oddly enough, Rose didn’t quite strike her as untruthful.

Then again, he didn’t strike her as a kidnapping maniac either, and she had been proven very wrong.

Shortly after her shocking conversation with Rose, a doctor came in and examined her. Apparently, during their little talk, Rose had failed to mention that the ‘nasty blow to her head’ had lead to an _actual skull fracture._

_That explained the headache._

Not too long after her fall into the coma, she underwent surgery due to excessive leakage of fluid from her ears and nose. That came with quite price to pay, she later learned.

Although Rose had strictly instructed no mirrors were allowed anywhere near her, he couldn’t keep her own image reflected in the windows at bay. She definitely understood why he’d tried.

Frankly, she looked like absolute crap.

A small patch of hair on the back of her head had been shaved off, and decorated with a painful scar. She looked paler than she had been, she lost a tragic amount of weight and her lips were dry as paper. Worst of all, the eyebags she’d obtained looked so bad she could’ve been mistaken for a damn raccoon.

“Young lady, do you understand what I’m saying?” Dr. Rodriguez asked, pushing his glasses down to gaze into her eyes unabashedly, snapping her thoughts away from her pathetic reflection. “Please know that this is not a friendly visit between acquaintances. I am a doctor, and you are my patient. Everything I say is of importance to your health, so I expect you to at the very least listen.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m listening, I’m sorry,” Gloria mumbled, awkwardly fiddling with her white hospital gown. The sound of her voice physically hurt to hear, since it sounded so broken because of the respirator tube.

“Like I was saying,” the older man glared, “The road to recovery is tough. You may never get the pieces of missing memory back, but for now, it seems that with time your body will make a physical near perfect recovery. You’re lucky there was no sign of muscle wasting, and that you were only out for so long.”

“…I know.” The actual coma had only lasted for thirteen days, but the results were disastrous. She missed odd bits and pieces of her memory, like her late father’s name, or what a particular Pokémon looked like. Her limbs were weak and useless.

After those thirteen days, she had been in a semi-awake state, although she remembered none of it. She had even spoken, but nothing coherent.

“When can I start with physical rehabilitation?” Gloria almost didn’t dare to ask, considering it was probably the tenth time she brought it up, and each time she received the same vague answer.

“When Chairman Rose deems you ready,” dr. Rodriguez dismissed her immediately. The topic of rehabilitation seemed to make the tall man on edge, but Gloria decided she needed answers.

“You always say that,” she argued, “but when exactly will that be? You are a doctor, and Mr. Rose is definitely not. You know I need to start as soon as possible.”

Considering the way Rodriguez flinched, she guessed she’d hit the desired mark. He seemed very serious about his line of work, something Gloria could definitely appreciate. What she didn’t appreciate, though, was him ignoring his sense of duty in favor of a paycheck.

“Yes, that is right… but I am not the one to make the decision. You may ask him yourself, if you are so eager.”

“I would, if he actually came.”

Rose had yet to make a single appearance since the day she awoke, which was four days ago, and her patience was running thin. She had gotten imprisoned, damn it, and the older man didn’t even have the gal to explain why.

Rodriguez squirmed uncomfortably, and Gloria decided to push deeper.

“Please, doctor. I can’t continue like this. I’m just a kid, what if I never recover because I missed my chance? You have to help me.”

“That…” he sighed, defeated, and she knew she’d won this round. “I’ll take it up with Ms. Oleana, if I find the chance.”

Any other time, the mere mention of the beautiful woman’s name would be enough to make her shrink back, but now she only felt elation when thinking of having _literally anything_ to do in this godforsaken hospital wing.

“Yes, please do!”

Dr. Rodriguez hurried to leave, using her needing rest as an excuse to escape her further whining. Problem was, no matter how much she refused to accept it, she truly did need a pathetic amount of sleep if only to quiet down the drumming headache threatening to make an appearance.

It was scary how quick humans could adept.

Her own body woke her up at five pm sharp, just in time for dinner, which usually consisted of heaps of vegetables.

Today was no exception. Her plate was practically _stacked_ with carrots, a few potatoes, and yoghurt as dessert. Cinderace… would have loved it.

She didn’t even attempt to hold back the tears that surfaced at the thought of her Pokémon. Every waking hour, she worried and worried and then worried some more. Considering her current… situation, she didn’t even want to think about what Rose had done to them. Even worse, he’d probably passed them to Oleana, which was the worst case scenario.

The reason why Oleana seemed to hate her so appeared pretty clear. Oleana was desperately in love with chairman Rose, clinging to his every word like a poet to their muse. Gloria had no intention of becoming competition of any sort though, and she was determined to make that clear.

Gloria dreaded seeing those crazy eyes of her again.

Approximately fifteen minutes after her dinner was finished, a nurse came and collected it. Gloria expected the usual silence and awkwardness from the staff, but this time, the young woman smiled brightly at her and didn’t look away.

“Miss, I have great news for you!” the pink haired woman said, showing off her white teeth happily. “Ms. Oleana has informed us that you may start the rehabilitation.”

“Really?!” Gloria shot upwards in her bed, but quickly flopped back down because of the pain accompanied by the action. “That’s amazing!”

“Yes, doctor Rodriguez was also very excited.” Although she had a hard time imagining the stoic man experiencing any emotion other than contempt, it didn’t dim her mood.

“When can I start?”

“We could start now, if you feel up to it. A quick check up and you’re as good as ready,” the nurse said.

Nodding, Gloria nervously watched as two other nurses joined them and gently carried her from the bed to the wheelchair. She still couldn’t walk on her own yet, which frustrated her to no end. Before all… this, she loved to run through the wild area, playing with random Pokémon. Now, she couldn’t even make it to the bathroom on her own.

She held her breath as the kind nurse wheeled her through the steel, open halls, the windows stretching even beyond her vision. Rose tower was truly something to be impressed about, in both stature and design. Oddly enough though, there was no sign of the staff she’d seen roaming the halls during her first visit.

The rehabilitation room was big, and frankly, looked scary. In the middle stood two iron bars, to the left a bunch of beeping machines she couldn’t even begin to recognize, and on the other end was mostly stuff you’d probably seen in a fitness gym before. At the entrance, doctor Rodriguez stood, looking as intimidating as ever.

“You look pleased,” he said, unimpressed. “I don’t think It will last long, young lady. You’re underestimating the recovery process.”

“Am not!” she frowned, feeling her cheeks flush. She hated being treated like a child.

The doctor merely raised a brow. “Let’s start slow and steady. Safe. First, can you move your toes for me?”

“Of course I can,” Gloria frowned, annoyed at the thought of going through this again. “Why are we wasting our time? I want to walk.”

“I’m sure you do,” the man scoffed, “But you can’t choose. You are at the mercy of your own body, which has no plans of going easy on you, it seems. Brain damage is a thing to be feared, I imagine you’ll learn through experience.”

“I thought my body was like this because of the coma though?”

“Did I say it wasn’t?” Rodriguez crossed his arms arrogantly. “It certainly didn’t help. But the reason that you can’t move your legs right now, isn’t because of your medical infused coma. It’s the damage to certain parts of the brain.”

“But.. it’ll get better, right?”

“…The brain is a mystery, even to us professionals. Luckily for you, you quite literally have the best help you can imagine.”

Gloria looked down in contemplation, focusing her chestnut eyes stubbornly on the clean floor to mask her tears. She hated this. Why did she have to be confined to this place by the people who caused it in the first place?

“…Look,” Dr. Rodriguez sighed, placing a dark hand on her frail shoulder. “I understand this must be tough for a trainer like yourself. But bear with it.”

“Why should I though?!” she snapped, her frustration pouring out like a storm she had no way of delaying anymore. “I want to see my mother!” She realized she sounded like a stubborn kid, but she didn’t feel like the adult they treated her as at all. Not there, not anymore.

“My my, who would’ve thought I’d see the famous challenger crying for her mother?” Oleana’s icy voice sneered, sounding much too happy for the situation.

The medical staff hastily nodded in respect, looking more than a little uncomfortable, with the exception of dr. Rodriguez. Oleana paid them no mind, approaching with a confidence any woman would be jealous of.

“You- you witch!” Gloria blinked back her tears quickly, feeling her face flush with embarrassment at the taunt. “What’s your problem anyway?”

“Problem? There is no problem at all. After all, from what I’m seeing right now, it won’t take long for the hope Mr. chairman has in you to diminish quickly. And then, he’ll realize what a waste of time he has brought into our perfectly working operation.”

Oleana walked a little closer into the rehabilitation room, placing her slim fingers on her waist in an act of obvious arrogance. “Actually, why don’t you just give up now? He will probably just keep you here forever, but forget about you completely.”

Gloria opened her mouth to scream, but held back when dr. Rodriguez’s tall form stood in front of her.

“Ms. Oleana, with no disrespect, I believe you are interrupting this patient’s recovering process. I have direct orders from the chairman to keep her as comfortable as possible. Do you truly think taking on that tone contributes to that?”

Oleana didn’t seem particularly impressed by the attempt at soothing the argument, but backed off all the same.

“Hmm… well, he always makes the correct decision, even if he has to revise it later. I trust this whole charade of affection won’t last long, considering your reluctance to work hard for anything,” the blonde woman said, drawing her red lips in a tight line.

“Excuse me?” Gloria seethed, “I don’t work hard for anything?!”

“That’s right. I personally believe it takes no skill to be a good trainer. I’ve seen twelve year old’s accomplish it. What does that make you?”

Not waiting for an answer, Oleana just turned on her high heels and walked her long legs out again.

Gloria was a mess. She felt anger, frustration, sadness, and most of all, fear. She dropped her head in her hands, and wished Hop was there with her. He… never failed to cheer her up, truly.

“Are you just going to take that?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Gloria looked up, startled.

“W-what?”

“I asked,” Dr. Rodriguez raised a challenging eyebrow, “Are you just going to take that? This is your chance to prove her wrong, you know?”

“Why would I?” Gloria asked, desperate to find a reason to fight back, since she found herself unable to. “What’s the point? I don’t know the chairman’s intentions. He could be lying about this all. Maybe he’ll never let me out. I could rot away in this tower for the rest of my life, and nothing would probably happen.”

“Maybe, if you stay moping around.” The doctor leaned forward, and focused his dark eyes on hers. There, Gloria found something she herself was sorely lacking right now; defiance. “Yes, the chairman is the most powerful person in Galar, possibly other regions too. But things are changing for the worse out there in my opinion, and I believe you could change the course of things.”

“M-me?” She stuttered, feeling faint at the thought of so much responsibility.

“Yes. It’s not gonna be easy, but I think the chairman will legitimately listen to you. Maybe not now, not so soon, but if you work hard you could become one of the most important people in this region.”

“Why me though? I’m just some country girl from Postwick.”

“Who knows?” Dr. Rodriguez shrugged, “But it’s obvious he cares for you. Why don’t you at least try? Plus, didn’t you want to be the champion?”

“…Yes,” Gloria nodded. “I do want to be the champion.”

“Then what’s keeping you? The chairman may care about Galar, but the plans he has for it aren’t what is best. Let’s work hard to stop the inevitable disaster that’s bound to come from this.”

“Uhm, as an employee, are you allowed to say-”

“Don’t worry, you’re not alone,” he dismissed her question, tugging his lips up in what she guessed was the first sincere smile she’d seen since her accident. “Me and my staff, we’ll help you.”

It seemed she had judged the doctor and his staff too soon. She didn’t know what their real purpose was, but despite their earlier hesitance, it appeared they really were on her side.

“…All right. Yeah, sure, let’s do it. Let’s try.”

“That’s the spirit!” The doctor said approvingly. The surrounding staff, two men and three woman, smiled kindly in agreement. “Let’s start by proving that assistant wrong, why don’t we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was kinda boring, it's not really going to be very action packed until later. Thanks for reading, and i'd love to hear your thoughts!


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